Smooth as Ice

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — The Space Force used commercial satellite services to support the withdrawal of U.S. forces from air bases in Niger this summer, Chief of Space Operations Gen. B. Chance Saltzman said Sept. 17 — a key milestone...

The top enlisted Guardian unveiled an ambitious project to transform the career path for the service’s 4,900 enlisted troops. “Vision for the Enlisted Force: Development Path,” aims to make each Guardian’s training experience more meaningful and better prepare them for increased levels of responsibility.

As the Air Force weighs the way it presents its cyber and other nonkinetic forces with the forthcoming reorganization of the 16th Air Force, some are keen for cyber operators to be more upfront about their warfighter role. Former U.S. Navy Principal Cyber Advisor Chris Cleary says the cyber community…

With only a few weeks left before the Department of the Air Force begins fiscal 2025 without a new budget, leaders argued both the Air Force and Space Force are underfunded now and for the foreseeable future at pivotal moments for both services during AFA’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference…

A year after the Air Force fell 10 percent short of its 2023 recruiting goals, the service will hit its 2024 goal and shoot for a 16 percent larger pool in 2025.

The People’s Republic of China recently launched its 1,000th satellite into orbit, the Space Force’s chief intelligence officer said Sept. 16, as he highlighted both the growing demand and ability the service has for tracking objects in space. 

With Russia and China ramping up joint military operations in recent months, Gen. Kevin Schneider, commander of Pacific Air Forces, said he is keeping a close watch. He and other experts also noted the lessons Beijing can learn from their collaboration and potential limits to the two nations’ cooperation.

The Air Force is hoping to slash the cost of the Next-Generation Air Dominance fighter from hundreds of millions per copy to less than $80 million, secretary Frank Kendall said. It might be done by disaggregating the fighter’s functions and possibly making it uncrewed.

The Air Force’s top acquisition official said Sept. 16 that longstanding plans to replace the KC-135 Stratotanker refueling jet with a similar airframe hinge on the progress of the service’s search for a more futuristic tanker.